Chapter 360: Chapter 360: Suspicions Regarding Si Jin’s Descent into a Dark Sentinel

The cabin fell silent once again.

Yun Sheng simply looked at Xing Che. Her face betrayed no emotion, but the anger in her heart had actually mostly dissipated.

She was never an unreasonable person to begin with. If his distancing and loss of contact were truly out of his control and meant to protect her, then she could understand.

However, understanding was one thing; to say she was completely fine right away would be a lie.

Yun Sheng remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. Her tone was calm—not exactly cold, but not very gentle either.

"I can listen to your explanation.

"But Xing Che, I want you to know that I’m not a fragile flower who only needs others’ protection. What I want is respect and trust. If all you have for me is concealment and disrespect under the guise of protection, then I think there’s no need for us to be too involved with each other in the future."

Hearing this, Xing Che’s heart tightened. He nodded emphatically, his tone extremely solemn.

"I’ll remember that, and it will never happen again. No matter what happens, I will absolutely never disappear without a word again."

Seeing his relieved expression, Yun Sheng did not say anything more, merely turning her head to look out the car window.

Right at that moment, faint footsteps sounded from outside the car. A second later, the door was pulled open from the outside.

Si Jin bent down and got into the car. His gaze swept lightly over a restrained Xing Che before finally landing on Yun Sheng’s face. "Are you alright?" he asked in a low voice.

"I’m fine now," Yun Sheng shook her head gently.

Si Jin did not ask further. He simply reached out to close the door, started the hovercar, and drove out of the dim underground parking lot.

The car drove smoothly along the way, heading neither to the nearest hospital nor to the apartment Si Jin usually rented. Instead, it bypassed the bustling city districts and eventually stopped beneath a high-end residential complex in a secluded area with tight security.

Si Jin turned off the engine and parked, turning to look at Xing Che in the back seat. "I have a hidden property here. It’s the most suitable place for you to recuperate in peace. No one will be able to easily track you down here."

Hearing this, Xing Che’s face stiffened slightly, a trace of complexity flashing quickly through his eyes.

He took a deep look at Si Jin, his mind racing before he spoke. "Can you let Shengsheng walk me up? I still have some things I want to say to her in private."

Before Yun Sheng could reply, Si Jin preemptively rejected the request.

"It would be best not to. If I’m guessing correctly, your severe injuries this time are inextricably linked to Dark Nest.

"Yun Sheng has already been targeted by Dark Nest, so her situation isn’t exactly safe. Dragging her further into your grudge with Dark Nest will only make things more dangerous for her. You don’t want her risking herself for you for nothing, do you?"

These words directly choked off everything Xing Che had yet to say, rendering him instantly speechless.

He subconsciously raised his eyes to look at Yun Sheng, hoping to find some room for compromise.

But at this moment, Yun Sheng was turned slightly sideways, clearly sitting closer to Si Jin. She leaned quietly against the seat, looking completely unwilling to intervene or offer any opinion.

Evidently, she had tacitly agreed to Si Jin’s arrangement.

The light in Xing Che’s eyes dimmed bit by bit. As his rationality returned, he replied with a soft "Okay," then pushed the car door open and got out.

Dragging his injured, heavy body, he slowly walked into the residential building, his back looking desolate and pathetic.

The car restarted and slowly drove away from the complex’s entrance.

Yun Sheng blinked her clear eyes and tilted her head to look at Si Jin beside her, her tone carrying a hint of doubt.

"Were the people who injured Xing Che this time really from Dark Nest? He is a genuine SSS-level Sentinel. Even if he underestimated his enemy and was careless for a moment, he should have only suffered a minor loss at worst. He shouldn’t have been injured this severely, almost dying in the parking lot. Does Dark Nest also have Sentinels with such formidable strength?"

Hearing this, Si Jin reached out and gently rubbed her cheek.

His movements were gentle, but a deep, unmelting coldness was hidden in his eyes. He spoke softly to answer her doubts.

"Xing Che’s situation this time isn’t as simple as just underestimating the enemy. I secretly investigated his background before."

His speaking pace was steady, every word revealing careful consideration.

"When Xing Che was young, he was abandoned by his family on a Garbage Star. He was picked up and raised by a Sentinel. I tried many channels and used quite a few methods to look into that Sentinel’s information, but found absolutely nothing.

"Normally speaking, it’s impossible to find zero information on an ordinary Sentinel from a Garbage Star when checked through so many of my channels. The only exception is if there’s a top-tier faction behind him, helping to hide his identity and erase all of his past."

Yun Sheng froze for a moment upon hearing this. Her mind raced through the crucial points, and her pupils contracted slightly as she spoke in disbelief.

"Are you saying... the Sentinel who raised Xing Che is very likely connected to Dark Nest, or might even be a higher-up in Dark Nest?"

The moment this guess was voiced, all the suspicious points instantly made sense.

No wonder Xing Che in his prime had lost so thoroughly. No matter how powerful a Sentinel was, it was absolutely impossible for him to use his full strength against the adoptive father who had raised him and watched him grow up.

As long as they faced each other, Xing Che was doomed to have no chance of winning from the very beginning.

Yun Sheng’s heart suddenly sank. In an instant, she recalled how Xing Che had once chatted with her about his past.

When he mentioned the Sentinel who raised him back then, his eyes were full of reliance and respect. It was obvious that the man held an extremely heavy weight in his heart. He was the only light in his gloomy childhood, the person he trusted and was most grateful to.

To think that the adoptive father Xing Che so respected and relied on was actually highly likely to be a higher-up in Dark Nest...

No wonder Xing Che hadn’t gone into detail about the cause of his injuries just now!

"No wonder he suddenly lost contact before..." Yun Sheng muttered in a low voice. Her tone was stifled and complex, laced with a bit of guilt. "And I even said so many harsh, serious things to him just now, blaming him with every word for hiding things and disrespecting me. If I had known, I wouldn’t have said any of that."

Seeing her stifled and self-reproachful look, Si Jin gently squeezed her fingertips and comforted her softly.

"Don’t overthink it, it’s fine. Xing Che won’t blame you."

Yun Sheng didn’t answer. She just pursed her lips lightly, her heart still feeling somewhat blocked.

Silence filled the car for a moment. Si Jin waited for her emotions to settle a bit before adding, "This matter might involve the higher-ups of Dark Nest, so it isn’t simple. We need to inform Bai Ye and have him keep a closer eye on things."

Yun Sheng paused at his words, then nodded in agreement. "Alright, I’ll message him right now."

She opened her terminal and sent a message roughly explaining to Bai Ye about Xing Che’s severe injuries and how his adoptive father was suspected to be a Dark Nest higher-up.

A few seconds after the message was sent, Bai Ye’s reply popped up quickly.

[I understand. I’ll come find you guys later when I’m done with work.]

Immediately following that, another new message popped up.

[Also, Lin Yueyao confessed a few more things. I had Luo Cheng investigate further and found that a few of them are related to Si Jin. It’s... about his descent into a Dark Sentinel. We’ll discuss the details when we meet later.]

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